Garrett Oliver, Brewer, Black Dude

It’s almost February, Black History Month, which means as a beer person it’s time to start saying, Hey, where are all the black people? I went through my internal roster of Beer Folk and found one black dude, who is the same black dude everyone finds: Garrett Oliver. Oliver is the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and known for his prize-worthy beers and drool-worthy pairings of beer with food. He is also known for being the Black Dude in beer.

I could throw statistics and charts at you if I was industrious enough to find them, but we all know what’s up: there aren’t many black people in the craft beer industry. The enthusiasts are also few and far between, which is what I am primarily concerned with. Just out of personal experience I can say that in my small Ohio town, where almost a quarter of the residents are black, I can remember seeing groups of black people in my local brewery twice. And I’m there a lot. At the closest bodega to my old apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on the other hand, I was lucky to find some of Oliver’s own Brooklyn brews.

In fact, there aren’t even all that many decent articles written about the issue. There’s this one disappointing NPR piece that quotes a Wall Street Journal beer reviewer as saying, “It’s one of the few things that all cultures share, so why it’s now dominated here in the U.S., and maybe in Europe and Australia, by white males is something I can’t explain.” Seriously? I guess this is why you write for the WSJ and I don’t read the WSJ.

There are a number of easy explanations for this.

1. A history of white privilege in the alcohol industry.
2. White privilege, white privilege, white privilege.
3. Not everyone wants to listen to lectures about final gravity and mouthfeel by the bearded white guy in flannel sitting next to them in a bar.
4. White privilege.

By one of these calculations I, too, should not be into craft beer. But I am, and I want to share! When someone tells me they don’t like craft beer I tell them they just haven’t tried the right one yet…and I mean it. But it will take more than the right brew to diversify the ranks of craft beer lovers.

A few months ago I read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, which schooled me in American racism. I thought I was pretty hip to the plight of the African-American community in our country, but I knew little of the virtual panopticon a black person maneuvers within on a daily basis. Before craft beer is widely sold in black neighborhoods, black beer drinkers must earn enough to pay the steep prices. Before there are more black craft brewers, black people must be able to get small business loans from the bank to start breweries. Beer may seem an inconsequential bit of the fight against racism, but it is emblematic and reflective of the struggle.

So, whites: remember to drag your token black friend to the craft beer bar next time you go; it’s not much, but it’s more than nothing.